Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $182.82 and last traded at $182.6810, with a volume of 7288798 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $180.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Chevron from $185.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.00.

Chevron Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $159.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.47.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $45.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.18 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 6.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $1.78 dividend. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 41,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.40, for a total value of $7,256,037.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $735,411.60. This trade represents a 90.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 275,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.75, for a total transaction of $41,456,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,128,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,052,783.75. The trade was a 19.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 793,158 shares of company stock valued at $127,919,578 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chevron

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Chevron by 17.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,790,028 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,540,753,000 after buying an additional 27,961,463 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Chevron by 9.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 152,605,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,698,184,000 after acquiring an additional 12,789,399 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its stake in shares of Chevron by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 122,064,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,478,458,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454,258 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Chevron by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,613,011 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,620,187,000 after acquiring an additional 134,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Chevron by 4.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,772,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,979,255,000 after buying an additional 1,342,723 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Company Profile

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron’s core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.